


A Night in Terror Tower

by leighwrites



Series: Reddie Oneshots [10]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Established Relationship, Forbidden Love, Goosebumps AU, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, mentions of light smut, mentions of torture and execution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 17:09:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21201167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighwrites/pseuds/leighwrites
Summary: “I don’t like this.”Richie shivered, zipping up his hoodie and pulling the hood up over his head, glancing at the blonde next to him. “Eds, it was your idea to come here. I didn’t ask to come to see Terror Tower, you did, so we’re going.”Eddie raised his eyes to look up at the tower as a strong gust of wind fluttered his hair. “I just have a weird feeling about this place.” He waved his hand at the tower as if to emphasise his point.“It’s just an old castle with a tower.” Richie said, waving his hand at the tower, copying his boyfriend. “Hundreds of tourists come to see this thing every day.”[also known as ‘A Night in Terror Tower’ Goosebumps AU]





	A Night in Terror Tower

“I don’t like this.”

Richie shivered, zipping up his hoodie and pulling the hood up over his head, glancing at the blonde next to him. “Eds, it was  _ your  _ idea to come here. I didn’t ask to come to see Terror Tower,  _ you  _ did, so we’re going.”

Eddie raised his eyes to look up at the tower as a strong gust of wind fluttered his hair. “I just have a weird feeling about this place.” He waved his hand at the tower as if to emphasise his point.

“It’s just an old castle with a tower.” Richie said, waving his hand at the tower, copying his boyfriend. “Hundreds of tourists come to see this thing  _ every  _ day.”

Eddie tucked his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “They  _ torture  _ people here, Richie. They lock them up, torture them and starve them to death.” He paused, his voice dropping almost deathly quiet. “They  _ executed  _ people here...”

“ _ Eds _ .” Richie nudged his elbow into Eddie’s side gently in an attempt to calm him. “That was like a hundred years ago. They don’t torture people here  _ now _ unless you count the price of their shitty postcards.”

“That’s not funny and it’s not helping.” Eddie huffed, bumping his shoulder into Richie’s. “That’s probably your shittiest joke to date.”

“Wow, I’m only  _ mildly  _ offended by that. Fucking gremlin.” Richie muttered, gazing up at the old castle.It was weird. Richie also felt a weird aura about the place when he looked up at it, but he couldn’t place what it was and he wasn’t about to tell Eddie that and make him worry even further. This trip was supposed to be fun.

The castle was made of grey stones that had darkened over time with two narrow towers that rose up at its sides like two stiff arms. The sky above was dark with stormy clouds, and the trees in the courtyard shivered in the wind. It didn’t feel like spring with the air being so cold and heavy, but Richie wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to England. He felt a raindrop on his nose, grimacing as it hit. This was their first day in England and he was already seeing that the stereotypical British weather wasn’t going to disappoint him.

Richie had not been expecting to spend his eighteenth birthday in another country but there wasn’t much he could do about it when his mother had conferences to attend and his father always liked to go along for support. He was just glad they’d allowed him to bring Eddie with them and that Eddie’s dad had allowed him to actually get on a plane and go to another country for two weeks. They’d spent the day sight-seeing all over London while his parents were busy, planning to meet back up with them at the hotel later. 

Maggie had signed them up with a tour group telling them that it would be a fun way for them to kill some time and that it totally counted as a date. Richie’s idea of a date did not involve being in a medium sized group that was being herded to the British Museum, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square.

Richie had thought that after the tour group stopped at a typically British pub that Eddie would want to head back to the hotel when the tour guide, Mr Starkes, had mentioned Terror Tower. Eddie, however, had suddenly looked excited, grabbing Richie’s hand and pulling him back onto the tour bus saying it wasn’t really a tour experience if they didn’t go to Terror Tower. So, now they were here, standing with twelve other people on the sidewalk as their guide gathered them together. It was mostly old people, two other actual tourists, and then them.

Mr Starkes began to lead them into the castle grounds, Eddie sliding on the old worn bricks that were damp from the rain just in front of the entrance, and Richie reached out to grab him to stop him from falling. The pathway in the grounds themselves was gravelly, and Mr Starkes stopped to point his umbrella at a pile of grey stones off to their side. “That wall was the original castle wall. It was built by the Romans in about the year four hundred back when London was a Roman city. This place was built by the Romans to be a walled fort and after they left it was turned into a prison which started many years of cruelty and torture within.”

Richie snapped a picture of the Roman wall with his phone, turning to take a picture of the castle as Mr Starkes continued. “This was London’s first debtor prison. If you were too poor to pay your bills, you were sent to prison which meant you never could, so you would stay here forever and the cycle would continue. Pretty grim, don’t you think?”

They passed a small guardhouse made of white stones with a slanted roof which looked no bigger than a phone booth. Richie was surprised to find that it wasn’t empty, a grey uniformed man stepping out of it with a rifle perched stiffly on his shoulder.

“Richie, look.” Eddie tugged at Richie’s sleeve to get his attention. “You can’t see any of the city from inside here. It’s like we really stepped back in time.”

“Yeah, Bev would have loved all of this. It’s too bad we had to leave her ass back over the ocean.”

“Yeah because letting you and Bev run loose in a place like this would be a good idea.” Eddie teased, hooking his arm into Richie’s. “Neither of you can be trusted even  _ with  _ supervision.”

The castle cast a deep shadow over the path as Mr Starkes led them up to a narrow entrance. “As you can see, the castle consists of several buildings. That long low building over there served as barracks for the soldiers.”

Richie snapped a picture of the barracks which looked like a long low hut more than an actual barracks and he wondered how anyone managed to stay in there for long periods of time. Eddie slid his hand into Richie’s as they followed the tour group inside, swinging their arms slightly as they stepped into the building’s foyer where Riche finally pulled his hood down.

“I don’t know why you didn’t just leave it down.” Eddie said, keeping his voice low so as not to interrupt the guide. “Your hair is literally always chaotic.”

Richie stuck his tongue out at Eddie. “It’s  _ organised _ chaos, Eds. I wasn’t gonna let the wind and rain ruin that.”

“We’ll be going to the torture chamber first of all. Please remember to stick together.” Mr Starkes announced, raising his umbrella into the air. “I’ll carry this high so you can find me. It’s easy to get lost inside this place. There are hundreds of chambers and secret passages. You will see some very unusual tools in here. The wardens had many ways to inflict pain on their prisoners and we recommend that you do not try them at home. Once again, I ask you to stick together. My last group was lost forever in there and some of them are still wandering the dark chambers. My boss  _ really  _ scolded me when I got back to the office.”

A few people laughed and Eddie rolled his eyes. “That was worse than your postcard joke.”

Richie snorted, bumping Eddie’s arm. “I think he’s great.”

Eddie grimaced, pulling Richie forward with the group as it started to move. He thought back to the outside when he’d been looking up at the towers. They were solid stone with no windows except for a tiny square one near the top. People were actually imprisoned in this dark windowless tower, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what that must have been like, to be locked up in a dark place and never know if you would see the outside again. Eddie would never know that feeling, and that was something he was grateful for.

Mr Starkes led them down a narrow stairway, Eddie’s sneakers squeaking on the stone floor as they stepped into a larger chamber that was dimly lit. He blinked a few times to try and help his eyes adjust to the darkness they were in, squeezing at Richie’s hand to check he was still there, relieved when he felt Richie squeeze back. Eddie had no idea why he had the sudden panic that Richie would have vanished, but he quickly let the thought vacate his brain as he took in the room around him. The air around them smelled old and dusty, and the room itself was surprisingly warm. Eddie found himself reaching for the zip of his hoodie with his free hand and yanking it down, looking around to see several display cases against the wall.

Mr Starkes himself was standing next to a large wooden structure in the center of the room and the group huddled closely around him. “This is the Rack,” he proclaimed, waving his umbrella at it. “The prisoner was forced to lie down here and then his arms and legs were strapped down. When that big wheel was turned, the ropes pulled his arms and legs, stretching them tight.” He pointed to the big wooden wheel. “Turn the wheel more, and the ropes pulled tighter. Sometimes the wheel was turned and the prisoner was stretched and stretched until his bones were pulled right out of their sockets.”

Staring at the long wooden contraption with its thick ropes and straps, Eddie could clearly picture someone lying there and hear the creak of the wheel turning. He could see the ropes pulling tighter and tighter while the person that was strapped there screamed in pain. Looking away quickly, Eddie caught sight of a dark figure standing on the other side of the Rack, tall and broad; dressed in a long black cape. He had pulled a wide brimmed hat down over his forehead, hiding most of his face in shadow from the group around him.

Eddie tugged at Richie’s hand, grabbing his attention away from the Rack. “Do you see that man over there? The one in black?” He whispered, trying not to get the man’s attention. “Is he in our group?”

Richie furrowed his brow in thought. “I don’t remember him being with us. He seems kinda weird. Why is he staring at us like that?”

The big man pulled the hat lower and his cape swirled as he stepped back into the shadows, almost blending in with the darkness. Mr Starkes continued to talk about the Rack. He asked if there were any volunteers to try it out and some of the group laughed. Richie shook the unknown man from his mind and snapped a picture of the Rack. Mr Starkes motioned for the group to follow him into the next room and as they hurried to keep up, Richie glimpsed at the man in the black cape who was now lumbering up behind them, face still hidden under the brim of his hat. 

Richie felt a stab of fear in his chest. Was the strange man watching them? No, he reasoned quickly. He couldn’t be. He was probably just another tourist visiting the Tower like they were. The self reassurance didn’t stop him from continuing to glance back at him as he and Eddie studied the displays of torture devices in the next room. The man didn’t seem interested in the displays like the people around him. He kept near the wall, fading into the deep shadows, his eyes straight ahead - on them.

“Hey, look at these!” Eddie urged, pushing Richie toward a display shelf. “What are they?”

“They’re called thumbscrews.” Mr Starkes replied, stepping up behind them and picking one up. “It looks like a ring, see? It slides down over your thumb like this.” He slid the wide metal ring over his thumb and then raised his hand so they could see clearly. “There is a screw at the side of the ring. You turn the screw, and it digs its way into your thumb. Keep turning it, and it digs deeper and deeper. Very nasty.” Mr Starkes set the thumbscrew back on the display shelf. “This is a whole room of very nasty items.”

“I can’t believe that people were actually tortured with all of this stuff.” Eddie murmured. “Though sometimes I wish I had a pair of these to use on you when you get too handsy in public.”

“Wow, I show you unconditional love and you want to torture me like we live in medieval times. That’s  _ mean  _ Eds.” 

“Personally I call it brat taming.”

“I - wow. See now Bev would have never given me this abuse were she here.”

“ _ Please _ , you know I’ll make it up to you later.”

“Follow me, please!” Mr Starkes’ voice echoed off the stone walls. “We’re going to climb the stairs to the north tower now. As you will see, the stairs are quite narrow and steep. So we will have to go single file. Please watch your step and remember that the wall is your friend should you need extra balance.” 

Mr Starkes ducked his bald head as he led the way through a low, narrow doorway, and Eddie noticed that he and Richie were at the end of the line and the strange man was gone. The stone stairs twisted up the Tower like a corkscrew with no hand railing; steep and twisty, forcing Eddie to hold on to the wall to keep his balance as he climbed. The air grew warmer as they made their way higher and Eddie thought about the numerous people who had climbed these ancient steps, wearing the stones down until they were smooth with rounded edges. He tried not to think about the prisoners who had been marched up these stairs to the Tower but he couldn’t help it. Their legs must have trembled with fear, the dread seizing at their chest. 

Just ahead, Richie made his way up slowly, peering up at the soot-covered stone walls. “It’s too dark.” he complained, looking back at Eddie over his shoulder. “Hurry up, Eds. Don’t get too far behind.”

Eddie’s hoody brushed against the stone wall as he climbed a little faster. Richie was pretty skinny, but even he was having trouble with the narrow stairway, bumping into the tower walls continuously. After climbing for what seemed like hours, they stopped on a landing, and straight ahead of them was a small dark cell behind metal bars.

“This is a cell in which political prisoners were usually held.” Mr Starkes said. “Enemies of the king were brought up here. As you can see it was not the most comfortable place in the world.”

Moving closer, Eddie could see that the cell contained only a small stone bench and a wooden writing table. “What happened to these prisoners?” An elderly woman asked Mr Starkes. “Did they stay in this cell for years and years?”

“No.” Mr Starkes replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Most of them were beheaded.”

Eddie felt a chill at the back of his neck. He stepped up to the bars and peered into the small cell. Real people had stood inside this cell. Real people held on to these bars and stared out into the dark stairway. They’d sat at that little writing table and paced back and forth in that narrow space; waiting to meet their fate. Swallowing hard, he glanced at Richie to see that he was just as horrified about the cell.

“We have not reached the top of the Tower yet.” Mr Starkes announced. “Let us continue our climb.”

The stone steps became steeper as they made their way up the curving stairway. Eddie trailed his hand along the wall as he followed Richie up to the top, trying to keep his balance on the steps. The group huddled into the tiny chamber at the top, gazing around the tiny room. A small round window high above their heads allowed a wash of gloomy gray light to filter down over them. The rounded walls were bare, lined with cracks and dark stains. The ceiling was low, so low that even Mr Starkes and some of the others had to duck their heads.

“Perhaps you can feel the sadness in this room.” Mr Starkes said softly. “This is the tower room where two young princes were brought. It was the early fifteenth century. The princes were locked in this tiny tower cell. Imagine. Two children barely older than eighteen locked away in the drab chill of this cell in the top of a tower as political enemies. They weren’t up here for long -”

Eddie had zoned out now, looking around the room. The chamber looked like it just about held  _ one  _ person, let alone two of them. Eddie glanced back over his shoulder, imagining what it must have been like to be dragged or marched all the way up here and locked away. He walked over to the nearby low cot against the wall with a three-legged wooden stool next to it. They’d sat here and Eddie wondered if they stood on the stool and tried to see the outside or if they talked about what was going to happen to them. Had they talked about the fun things they would do when they were freed? 

Eddie approached the cot and knelt next to it, reaching his hand out. It felt lumpy and hard... so uncomfortable. 

_ Hands roamed pale skin, curling around a jaw and settling there, thumbs stroking at the flesh and catching the ends of dark curls. “I was careless. I just wanted one night with you before you were to return home and now you are here. Locked up like some common enemy.” _

_ A nose bumped at his own, a mouth inches apart from his. “I would do it again for that one night.” _

_ Lips met, soft and careful. “I will not leave you when she comes for me. I cannot.” _

_ “You have to.” _

_ “I refuse. I would rather spend the rest of my life locked in here with you.” _

“Eds, come on.” Richie curled a hand around Eddie’s arm. “The group already left.”

Eddie climbed to his feet, and they left the dark suffocating chamber to catch up with the group. The stairway seemed darker and steeper than it had on the way up, but Eddie reasoned this was just because it was getting darker. How had he zoned out so bad that he hadn’t heard Mr Starkes telling them it was time to leave? And how far ahead was the group back to the entrance by now. Squinting into the darkness, Eddie started down the steps, his sneakers sliding on the smooth stone and forcing him to once again use the wall to support himself.

“Where are they? Why can’t we hear them on the stairs?” Eddie asked, sliding on the stones again. Richie wrapped a hand around his arm to keep him steady.

“Take it easy Eds. The last thing you wanna do is fall down these. The bus will wait when Starkes realises we’re not there.”

The air grew cooler as they climbed lower, reaching the small cell on the landing where they had stopped on the way up. The landing was bathed in a pale yellow light from the swinging bulb above. Eddie glanced in the cell, darking into the dimly lit area. He could have sworn he saw something; a young woman with fiery red hair sitting on the pitiful excuse for a bed. The light was playing tricks on his mind; he was sure of that.

“Shit.” Richie muttered, staring at the dark stairway.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked, following Richie’s line of vision. He saw at once what had bothered him. There were two stairways leading down, one to the left and one to the right. “That’s - I don’t remember a second stairway when we came up here.”

“Starkes mentioned secret passages and stuff. This place is bigger than it looks.”

“So… which is the right one?”

Richie hesitated. “I’m not sure.” He stepped over to the staircase on the right and peered down but he couldn’t see far since it curved sharply. “I don’t think it matters though… they both lead down.” He stared down the staircase on the right, looking back at Eddie over his shoulder. “Come on, I think this is the one we took to get here.”

Richie took a step down and then stopped at the sound of footsteps. They were heavy, heading up the stairs towards them. 

Eddie bumped into Richie’s back, teetering on the steps and looking into the darkness over his shoulder. “It sounds like someone’s coming. Maybe Starkes sent someone back to get us to make sure we don’t get lost.”

Richie nodded, using the wall to support himself. “Yeah, see I told you he wouldn’t leave without us.”

When the dark figure appeared on the stairway below, Richie could see at once that it wasn’t their tour guide. The huge man in the black cape stepped into view instead, his face still hidden in darkness, but his eyes glowed like he glared up at them and me from under the black wide-brimmed hat. He stopped suddenly, and Richie noticed that it was hard to see his face. The man  _ had  _ to work here. Maybe he was in charge of making sure people under a certain age didn’t run riot in the tower, and if anyone got lost it was his job to find them.

“Hey uh, we got separated from our group.” Richie tried. “Is uh… is this the right way down?”

The man didn’t reply. He only glared up at them menacingly. He was so  _ big  _ and it was kind of intimidating the way his body blocked the stairway. Had Mr Starkes talked him into some fucked up joke to make them think they couldn’t leave? Eddie squinted at the man, taking a step back towards the landing. There was something off with him; something not right. Eddie hadn’t liked him since the first second he’d seen him back in the torture chamber.

The man raised a huge hand covered in a black glove, pointing up at them. “You will come with me now. I do not want to hurt you. But if you try to escape, I will have no choice.”

_ “This way.” The man ordered, shoving him up the stone steps. “You will be going right to the top of the tower. Prince or not you broke our holy religious laws. If you want to be with him so badly you can rot with him in the highest room of this place.” _

_ He stumbled onto the landing lit with torches, pausing long enough to see the young woman in the cell who scrambled from her bed and approached the bars, wrapping a hand around one. He’d recognize the assassin anywhere. He’d been the one to hire her but her plan had been foiled because of the same man shoving him higher up the stairs. _

_ She looked regretful. Regretful because she’d failed him. _

The man stepped forward, bringing his black-gloved hands up in front of him, moving the fingers slowly. His eyes flared darkly. “You know why I am here.”

“No. I don’t. I -” Richie’s words were cut off as the man grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Hey, let go of him!” Eddie snapped. “If this is some joke you and Starkes decided to play on us for getting separated you can stop! You did it, okay? We’re scared.”

The caped man grabbed Eddie too, his gloved fingers digging sharply into his shoulder. He backed them against the cold stone wall and Richie finally caught a glimpse of his face; hard and angry. He had a long, sharp nose, thin lips twisted in a snarl. And the eyes. The cold, glowing eyes. “Do not move.” He uttered in a low growl. “Stand there. Do not try to escape.”

He reached into the folds of his black cape, struggling for a moment before he pulled something out. At first they thought they were rubber balls, three of them, but as the man clicked them together, Eddie realised he was holding smooth, white stones. Richie tried edging slowly toward the nearest stairway. Mumbling to himself, the man concentrated on the three smooth white stones in his hand. He piled one on top of the other, letting out an angry cry as one of the stones fell to the floor. It bounced once and slid across the smooth floor. 

Eddie shoved Richie towards the stairwell on the left. “Go!”

“Do not move!” the man bellowed, grabbing up the stone. He had a booming voice that thundered off the stone walls. “I warned you. You cannot escape me!”

The booming voice followed them as they scrambled down the stairway, stumbling on the twisted and curved steps, hands trailing against the cold stone of the tower wall to stop them falling. Down, down. They turned so fast it made their heads spin, but Richie squinted into the dim light and forced himself not to be dizzy, not to fall, and not to give in to the terror that rose up over him. 

“Keep going.” Eddie urged. “We’re almost out of here!”

Or were they? The climb down seemed so much longer than it had going up. Their sneakers slapped against the stone steps, but even louder were the heavy footsteps of the caped man behind them. His bellowed cries boomed down the narrow tower, echoed all around them as if they were being chased by a hundred frightening men instead of one. Who is he? Why was he chasing them? Why was he so angry? They frantically scrambled down, following the twisting stairs. There was no time to get answers. 

The big, gray door rose up in front of them before they could stop. They both slammed into it. They could hear the rumble of the man’s footsteps above them on the stairway as he came closer. Eddie shoved the door hard with his shoulder. It didn’t move the first time, but when Eddie tried again, it scraped against the stone floor as it slowly opened part way. Richie sucked in a breath and squeezed through, grabbing it from the other side and managing to pry it open just a little more for Eddie to get through. They shoved the door shut behind them and Eddie slid the long metal bar across it to bolt the door shut and lock the caped man inside.

The only problem was that they weren’t outside. They were in a huge, dark room and there was a cruel voice laughing softly. The laughter rose up in front of them, startling Eddie. 

“You have entered the king’s dungeon. Abandon all hope.” The voice declared. 

There was a single beam of pale green light from the low ceiling that broke the darkness. Richie squinted in the eerie glow, desperate to find a way to escape. Across the room, there was a barred cell against the wall and when they crept forward they could see a bony hand reaching out from between the bars. 

Richie jumped back and pounding rose from the door they’d bolted. “You cannot escape!” 

Eddie’s eyes frantically searched the darkness. Off in a distant corner, he glimpsed a slender crack of light and started towards it, tripping over something in the process. He looked down to see that the something was a dead body chained to the floor. That couldn’t be right. There were no actual dungeons like this these days. Eddie stared down at the chained old man, exhaling heavily. It was a dummy. Not real. Just a dummy, chained to the floor.

The cruel laughter sounded again. “You have entered the king’s dungeon. Abandon all hope.” 

A recording. He’d been so wound up by the man chasing them he’d actually thought the dummy at his feet was a real body. His heart pounded like a bass drum but he felt a little better knowing that they weren’t trapped in a real dungeon. 

And then the door burst open with a loud crack, the man roaring into the room with his cape fluttering behind him; dark eyes glowing in victory. “You cannot escape. You know you will not leave the castle.”

His words sent a cold shiver down Eddies back.

_ “Prisoners do not leave here.” The woman spoke. “I am asking you to reconsider this choice you have made.” _

_ “This choice? You are the one who threw me in here to try and teach me some kind of sick lesson and I  _ ** _have _ ** _ made a choice while in here. I choose this cell. I choose him.” _

_ “Then you will rot here, my son. I shall bring a better heir into this world and they will take London when I am gone and you will rot here never seeing the outside again.” _

“What do you want?” Richie demanded. “Why are you chasing us?”

The big man pressed his gloved hands against his waist. “You know the answer. Are you ready to come with me now?” 

Richie didn’t reply, leaning close to Eddie as he whispered, “Get ready to run.” Eddie continued to stare straight ahead. He didn’t blink or nod his head and Richie couldn’t tell if he had even heard him.

“You know you have no choice.” The man said softly. He reached both hands into the folds of his cape and once again, he pulled out the mysterious white stones. “Do not run from me again. You know you must come with me now.”

Without saying a word to each other, without glancing at each other, they spun around and started to run. The man shouted in protest and took off after them. The room seemed to stretch on forever, and Eddie was sure it was the entire basement of the castle. Beyond the beam of light, the darkness rose up like fog and the fear weighed them down. Eddie’s legs felt as if they were a thousand pounds each. Richie glanced back when he heard the caped man cry out. He had tripped over the same dummy chained to the floor that Eddie had only he’d fallen to the ground. As he scrambled to his feet, Eddie searched the far wall for a door or a hallway. 

They spotted a worktable against the wall cluttered with tools and Eddie frantically searched for something to use as a weapon but there was nothing. He grabbed a flashlight, instead and pushed the button unsure if it would work. A white beam of light darted over the floor and Eddie raised the flashlight to the far wall. “Richie - look!”

There was a low opening in the wall like some kind of tunnel. In the next second, they were ducking their heads and stepping into the dark opening. Eddie kept the light ahead of them down at their feet. They were forced to stoop as they ran. The tunnel was curved at the top, and not high enough for them to stand. It ran straight for a while, and then it curved down and to the right. The air felt damp and cool and they could hear the trickle of water nearby.

“It’s an old sewer.” Eddie realised. “That means it has to lead us out somewhere.”

“I hope so.” Richie replied breathlessly.

Running hard, they followed the curve of the sewer. The beam from the flashlight leaped about, jumping from the low ceiling to the damp stone floor. The light revealed wide metal rungs hanging from the ceiling and they had to duck even lower to keep from smashing their heads against them. They splashed through puddles of dirty water, but they refused to stop, even when they heard footsteps behind them. Eddie stumbled forward and the flashlight bumped against the wall and fell from his hand, clattering to the tunnel floor and rolling in front of him. The light shone back into the tunnel and towards the caped man. Richie followed the beam and saw him move into view, bent low and running hard. 

Eddie bent to pick up the flashlight but it slid out of his trembling hand. That was all the time the caped man needed. He grabbed Richie with both hands and pulled the black cape around him, trapping him. Then he reached for Eddie. “I told you… there is no escape.” 

Eddie ducked out of the caped man’s grasp, and grabbed the flashlight off the floor, planning to use it as a weapon. He could shine it the man’s eyes or swing it at his head. He didn’t get the chance, freezing in horror as the beam of light bounced down the tunnel and he saw the rats. There were hundreds of them, and the darting light made their eyes glow red like fire. The rats scrambled over the sewer floor, snapping their jaws hungrily and gnashing their jagged teeth as they came charging at them. Their shrill whistling and chittering echoed through the tunnel, the terrifying sound making Eddie’s breath catch in his throat. 

As they pulled their scrawny bodies over the hard floor, their tails slithered behind them like dark snakes. The caped man saw them, too, and he leaped back in surprise. Richie tore out from under the cape and scrambled towards Eddie. Richie grabbed Eddie around the waist and hoisted him up towards the metal bars embedded into the sewer roof. “Grab on.”

Eddie grabbed the metal bars and pulled himself up. Richie jumped and grabbed onto some nearby, hoisting his feet as high as he could from the floor. The rats charged underneath them, a foul odor rising up and nearly choking them as the rats ran past. Eddie heard the tap tap tap of their long toenails against the floor and heard the swish of their sweeping tails. He couldn’t see the rats in the darkness but he could hear them and that was enough. He heard the man too, feet thundering as he started to run away; to flee the thundering wave of rats.

Richie didn’t let go of the metal bars until he was sure all the rats had disappeared; silence falling over them except for their harsh breathing. He held his arms up towards Eddie who released the bars and Richie lowered him carefully to his feet. 

“Let’s get out of this disgusting sewer.” Richie said, picking up the flashlight and handing it to Eddie. “Starkes must be frantic searching for us.”

Eddie took the flashlight with a shaky nod. “I can’t wait to get back on the tour bus. I can’t wait to get away from this tower and out of this sewer. Your parents are probably out of their meeting now. They’re probably worried.”

“Knowing them, they think the tour group is just running late.”

Eddie kept the beam of light ahead of them, keeping it down on the sewer floor, as they started walking. The tunnel floor rose up and curved to the left. They started to climb. “Hey Richie did you feel weird back in that tower when we were in that chamber?”

Richie ducked his head to avoid hitting a rung. “Weird how?”

“It felt like… I’d been there before but I know I hadn’t.”

“I think it’s like some psychological thing because Starkes was talking about people our age. I can’t believe they locked up their own Prince. Like what the hell could he have done for his own parents to lock him up?”

“They didn’t lock just him up though. They locked up another one too. Together. I wonder what they did.”

Before Richie could respond, the sound of wind rushing into the tunnel reached them. That meant they had to be close to the end and that the sewer emptied somewhere outside. The tunnel curved again and then suddenly ended by a metal ladder that reached straight up to a large, round hole in the ceiling. 

Gazing up at the hole, Richie saw the night sky. “We made it.”

“You first.” Eddie said, keeping his flashlight aimed at the hole. Richie scrambled up the ladder and Eddie pulled himself up right behind him. 

It was a cold, damp night but they didn’t care. The air smelled so fresh and clean and they were out. They were out of the sewer and out of the Terror Tower away from that frightening man in the black cape.

Eddie gazed around quickly, trying to figure out where they were. The Tower tilted up toward them, a black shadow against the blue-black sky. The lights had all been turned off now and the tiny guardhouse lay dark and empty. He could see the low wall that divided the Tower from the rest of the world. And then he found the stone path that led to the exit and the parking lot. Their shoes thudded over the smooth stones as they hurried toward the parking lot, a pale half-moon sliding out from behind wispy clouds and casting a shimmering silver light over the trees and the long stone wall.

It all suddenly looked unreal. Without stopping, Richie glanced back at the old castle. The moonlight shone off the jutting towers as if casting them in a pale spotlight. Real people walked on this path hundreds of years ago and real people died up in that tower. With a shiver, he turned back and kept jogging. They moved through the open gate and out past the wall. The parking lot shimmered darkly in the moonlight. It was empty. The tour bus was gone. They turned to search up and down the street. The long, empty street.

“They left us.” Eddie murmured with a sigh. “How are we going to get back to the hotel?”

Richie started to answer but stopped when I saw a tall, white-haired man staggering toward them, moving fast, pointing and calling, “You there! You there!” The man’s shoulder dipped in the big, gray overcoat he wore as he charged at them, limping with each step.

Eddie stepped into Richie’s side, staring back at the man as he hurried across the empty parking lot. His white hair tumbled out from under a small gray cap. The overcoat hung down nearly to his ankles and bulged over his skinny frame. He stepped up in front of them and waited to catch his breath. His tiny eyes caught the moonlight as he narrowed them at the boys, studying Eddie, and then to Richie.

“Are you the two kids that bus driver was looking for?” He asked in a shrill, high voice. Eddie nodded. “Well, I’m the night guard here. There’s no one here but me after closing.”

“Uh… where is our bus?” Eddie asked quietly.

“It left.” The man replied sharply. “He searched all over for you but he couldn’t wait any longer. What happened? Did you get lost in there?” He motioned back toward the Tower.

“A man chased us.” Eddie replied breathlessly. “He said we had to come with him. He was really scary, and -”

“Man? What man?” The night guard eyed them suspiciously.

“The man in the black cape! And the black hat. He chased us. In the Tower.”

“There’s no man in the tower.” The guard replied, shaking his head. “I told you. I’m the only one here after closing.”

“But he’s in there!” Richie protested. “He chased us! He was going to hurt us! He chased us through the sewer and the rats -”

“Sewer? What were you two doing in the sewer?” The guard demanded. “We have rules here about where tourists are allowed. If you break the rules, we can’t be responsible. Now you come out here with a wild story about a man in a black cape. And running through the sewers. Wild stories. Wild stories indeed.”

Eddie and Richie exchanged a glance. They could both see that the man wasn’t going to believe anything they said. “How do we get back to our hotel?” Richie tried instead. “My parents are probably really worried about us.”

“Do you have any money?” The guard asked, replacing his cap. “There’s a phone box on the corner. I can call for a taxi.”

Richie reached into his jeans pocket and felt the heavy coins his parents had given him before they had set out on the tour. Then he breathed a long sigh of relief. “We have money.” 

“It’ll cost you at least fifteen or twenty pounds from way out here.” The guard warned.

“That’s okay.” Richie replied. “My parents gave us some British money. If we don’t have enough, my parents will pay the driver.”

The guard nodded and then he turned to Eddie. “You look all done in, lad. Did you get frightened up in that tower?”

Eddie swallowed hard. “I just want to get back to our hotel.” 

The guard nodded. Then, tucking his hands into the pockets of the big overcoat, he led the way to the phone booth. The black taxi pulled up about ten minutes later. The driver was a young man with long, wavy blond hair. 

“What hotel?” He asked, leaning out the passenger window.

“The Barclay.” Richie told him, ushering the tired Eddie into the back of the taxi. It felt so great to sit down after all the running they’d been doing.

As they pulled away from the Terror Tower, they didn’t glance back. They never wanted to see that old castle again. The car rolled smoothly through the dark streets and the taxi meter clicked pleasantly while the driver hummed to himself quietly. Richie shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the leather seat. He tried not to think about the frightening man who had chased them in the Tower but he couldn’t force him from his mind. He heard Eddie yawn and then felt the weight of his head on his shoulder.

Soon they were back in the center of London where cars and taxis jammed the streets. They passed brightly lit theaters and restaurants and the taxi finally pulled up to the front of the Barclay Hotel and eased to a stop. The driver slid open the window behind his seat and turned to Richie. “That’ll be fifteen pounds, sixty pence.”

Eddie sat up drowsily and blinked several times, surprised to see that they had reached their destination. Richie pulled the big heavy coins from his pocket and held them up to the driver. “I don’t really know what is what. Can you take the right amount from these?”

The driver glanced at the coins in his hands, sniffed, then raised his eyes to Richie’s face. “What are those?” 

“Coins. Do I have enough to pay you?”

He stared back at Richie. “Do you have any real money? Or are you going to pay me with play money?”

“I don’t understand.” 

“I don’t either.” The driver replied sharply. “But I do know that those aren’t real coins. We use British pounds here, sir.” His expression turned angry. He glared at Richie through the little window in the glass partition. “Now, are you going to pay me in British pounds, or are we going to have some trouble?”

Richie pulled the coins away from him and raised them close to his face. It was dark in the back of the taxi, and hard to see but the coins were large and round. They felt heavy, made of real gold or silver. It was too dark to read the words on them. “Why would my parents give me play money?” 

The driver shrugged. “I don’t know your parents.”

“Well, they will pay you the fifteen pounds.” Richie told him, struggling to shove the big coins back into his pocket.

“Fifteen pounds, sixty - plus tip.” The driver said, frowning at Richie. “Where are your parents? In the hotel?”

Richie nodded. “Yes. They were at a meeting in the hotel. But they’re probably up in the room now. We’ll get them to come down and pay you.”

“In real money, if you please.” The driver said, rolling his eyes. “If they’re not down here in five minutes, I’ll come in after you.”

“They’ll be right down. I promise.” 

Richie pushed open the door and scrambled out of the cab, Eddie following him onto the sidewalk, shaking his head. “This is weird.” 

A red-uniformed doorman held the hotel door open for them and they hurried into the huge, chandeliered lobby. Most people seemed to be heading the other way, going out for dinner, if he had to guess. They made their way past the long front desk, walking so fast that they nearly collided with a bellman pushing a big cart stacked high with suitcases. To their right, Richie could hear dishes clattering in the hotel restaurant, the aroma of fresh-baked bread floating in the air.

The elevator doors opened and a woman in a fur coat stepped off, walking a white toy poodle. Eddie got tangled in the leash as the dog made a break to exit the elevator and Richie had to pull him free so they wouldn’t miss the elevator. They stumbled inside and as the doors slid shut, Richie pushed the button for the sixth floor. 

“What was wrong with that money?” Eddie asked.

Richie shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess my mom and dad made a mistake.”

The doors slid open on six, and they hurried side by side down the long, carpeted hall to their room. Richie stepped around a room service tray on the floor where someone had left half a sandwich and part of a bowl of fruit, scanning the numbers on the doors. 

“Here we are.” Richie ran up to the door to room 626 and knocked. “Hey, Mom! Dad! It’s us!” He knocked again, a little louder. He couldn’t hear anything on the other side. No footsteps. No voices. 

“They must be out of that meeting by now. Right?”

“Maybe it ran late.” Richie suggested.

“Now what? That driver said fifteen minutes.”

“Are you having trouble?” A man’s voice asked. Richie turned to see a man in a red uniform. One of the bellboys. He was dragging an empty cart behind him, red hat pulled over his curly blonde hair. Richie could just about make out the name on his tag -  _ Stan _ .

_ “I have to ask you to reconsider this plan, Sire. If you try to kill her and fail she will know it was you and then it is off to the tower. Why can you not just wait a few more years?” _

_ “I do not want to keep sneaking around. These laws need to be changed. She is so blind to everything. She would have me marry a woman from a country we are already allied with than have me marry a man from a country we are not. As long as our countries hate each other no one will allow us to be together.” _

“My parents are still at a meeting.” Richie leaned against the door, sounding defeated. “We’re locked out.”

Stan studied them for a moment, and then he stepped away from the cart and raised a large keychain filled with keys. “I’m not really supposed to do this,” he said, shuffling through the clattering keys, “but I guess it’s okay to let you in.” 

Stan put a key into the lock, turned it, and pushed open the door for them. Richie thanked him and told him he was a lifesaver. Stan laughed and moved on down the hall, pulling his cart towards the elevator. The room was dark and Eddie clicked on the light as they stepped in.

“They’re not here.” Richie said softly. “No sign of them.”

“They probably left you a note. Maybe they had to go out with people from the meeting… or maybe they’re down in the restaurant waiting for us.”

The room was a suite, containing a living room and two bedrooms. Turning on lights as he went, Richie made his way to the desk in the corner. There was a writing pad and a pen in the center of the desk but the pad was blank. No message.

“That’s weird.” Eddie said, looking around the room. 

Richie crossed the room and stepped into the bedroom his parents were using. He clicked on the ceiling light and glanced around. The room had been made up. The bed was smooth and unwrinkled and there was no message for them anywhere. The dresser lay bare; no clothes tossed over a chair, no shoes on the floor. There were no briefcases or notepads from their meeting. No sign that anyone had even been in the room. 

Richie turned and saw that Eddie had moved to the closet, pushing the sliding door open all the way. “No clothes. They’re all gone.”

A heavy feeling of dread settled in Richie’s stomach and weighed down his entire body. “What’s going on? They wouldn’t just leave.” 

Richie walked over to the closet and checked it out for himself. He didn’t know what he expected to see, it was clear even from across the room that the closet was completely empty. 

“Are you sure we’re in the right room?” Eddie asked as he pulled open the top dresser drawer. Empty.

“Of course this is the right room.” 

Eddie pulled out the rest of the dresser drawers. They were all empty. They searched every inch of the room. No sign of Richie’s parents.

“We’d better go down to the desk.” Richie suggested, thinking hard. “We’ll find out what room the meeting is being held in. Then we’ll go there and find them ”

“I can’t believe they’re still at the meeting.” Eddie murmured, shaking his head. “And why would they pack up and take all our clothes to the meeting with them?”

“I’m sure there’s a good answer. Come on. Let’s go downstairs.”

They made their way back down the long hall and took the elevator to the lobby. There was a crowd around the front desk. A large woman, dressed in a green pantsuit, was arguing angrily about her room. “I was promised a view of the river.” She screamed red-faced at the man behind the desk. “And I want a view of the river!”

“But, madam,” he replied softly, “the hotel is not located near the river. We do not have any river views from this hotel.”

“I must have a river view!” The woman insisted. “I have it right here in writing!” She flashed a sheet of paper in front of the man’s face.

The argument continued for a few minutes more. Richie quickly lost interest in it. He thought about his parents and wondered where they were and why they hadn’t left them a note or a message. They finally got up to the desk about ten minutes later. The clerk tucked some papers into a file, then turned to them with an automatic smile. 

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah uh,” Richie squinted at the nametag on his chest. “Mike - we’re trying to find my parents. They’re in the meeting, I think. Can you tell us where the meeting is?”

_ “I will keep the hallways clear for one hour so that he can get to your room without being detected and I will do the same in the morning.” _

Mike stared at him for a long moment, his face blank, as if he didn’t understand. “What meeting would that be?”

Richie thought hard. He couldn’t remember what the meeting was called. Or what it was about. “It’s the big meeting.” He replied with uncertainty. “The one people came from all over the world for.”

Mike twisted his mouth into a thoughtful pout. “Hmmm… we have a problem. There aren’t any meetings in the hotel this week.”

Richie stared back at him as his mouth dropped open. He started to say something, but when he opened his mouth the words were lost in his throat, unable to push out. 

“No meetings?” Eddie asked weakly.

Mike shook his head. “No meetings.”

A young woman called for Mike from the office and he signaled to them that he’d be right back, then hurried over to see what she wanted.

“Are we in the right hotel?” Eddie whispered. 

“Of course,” Richie said sharply. “Why do you keep asking me these questions? I’m not an idiot, you know. Why do you keep asking, is this the right room? Is this the right hotel?”

“Because nothing makes sense and I’m getting freaked out!!” Eddie snapped.

Richie started to reply, but Mike returned to the desk. “May I ask your room number?” 

“Six twenty-six.” Richie replied.

Mike punched several keys on his computer keyboard, then squinted at the green monitor. “I’m sorry but that room is vacant.” 

“What?” 

Mike studied him, narrowing his eyes. “There is no one in room six twenty-six at this present time.” 

“But  _ we _ are!” 

Mike forced a smile to his face and raised both hands. “Let’s remain calm. We’ll find your parents.” He assured, leaving the smile frozen on his face as he punched a few computer keys. “Now, what is your last name?” 

Richie opened his mouth to answer, but no answer came to his mind. He glanced at Eddie whose face was knitted in concentration.

“What is your last name?” Mike repeated. “If your parents are in the hotel, I’m sure we can track them down for you, but I need to know your last name to do that.”

Richie stared blankly at him. He had a strange, tingly feeling that started at the back of his neck and ran all the way down his body. He suddenly felt as if he couldn’t breathe, as if his heart had stopped. His last name. 

His last name…

Why couldn’t he remember his last name?

My name is Richie, he told himself. Richie… Richie…  _ what _ ? 

“Eddie,” he hissed, “what’s my last name?”

Eddie turned to him, startled. “Why are you asking  _ me _ ? It’s  _ your  _ name.” 

After some panic, Mike suggested that they go to the hotel restaurant. He promised he’d try to find Richie’s parents while they ate, and that suggestion was fine with them as they hadn’t eaten since midday. They sat at a small table in the back of the restaurant and Eddie gazed around the big, elegant room. Crystal chandeliers cast sparkling light over the well-dressed diners and on a small balcony overlooking the room, a string quartet played classical music. 

Richie tapped his hands nervously on the white tablecloth and Eddie kept picking up the heavy silverware and twirling it in his hand. The tables all around them were filled with laughing, happy people. Three children at the next table, very dressed up, were singing a song in French to their smiling parents.

Eddie leaned over the table and whispered to Richie. “How are we going to pay for the food? Our money isn’t any good.”

“We can charge it to the room.” Richie whispered back. “You know… when we figure out what room we’re in.” 

Eddie nodded and slouched back in his high-backed chair as a waiter in a black tuxedo appeared beside the table. He smiled at them, taking out a pad. “Welcome to the Barclay, and what may I bring you this evening?”

“Could we see a menu?” Richie asked.

“There is no menu right now.” The waiter replied without changing his smile. “We’re still serving tea.”

“Only tea?” Eddie asked. “No food?”

The waiter chuckled. “Our high tea includes sandwiches, scones, croissants, and an assortment of pastries.”

“Yes. We’ll have that.” Richie said quickly. The waiter gave a quick bow of his head, turned, and headed toward the kitchen. “Stupid fucking British lingo. At least we’ll get something to eat.”

“Why couldn’t you remember your last name?” Eddie asked. 

“I don’t know. Can you remember yours?” 

Eddie furrowed his brow, panic coming to his face. “No. I can’t. What’s going on?” 

“Maybe it’s just everything that happened today. We’re tired and stressed. That’s all.”

The waiter brought a tray of tiny sandwiches over that was cut into triangles. Richie recognized the egg salad and tuna fish ones but he didn’t have a clue what the others were - not that he cared. They ate slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. 

“Maybe if we tell the man at the front desk what your Mom and Dad look like, he can help us find them.” Eddie suggested.

“Good idea.” Richie said, and then his hand shot to his head as a dizzy feeling washed over him. “Shit, Eds, I don’t remember what they look like.”

Eddie’s croissant fell from his hand. “I can’t either. This is fucking crazy, Rich! Something is very wrong and I don’t think this is stress related!”

Richie swallowed hard. He couldn’t conjure up any kind of picture of his parents. He tried to think about his Mom. Was she blonde? Red haired? Black haired? Was she tall? Short? Thin? Fat? He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t picture where he lived either. Was it a house? An apartment? Nothing was coming back to him. He could barely remember what Bev looked like without seeing her in dirty old clothes that were covered in blood.

_ “She managed to kill six guards. It looks like she was heading right for you chamber, my Queen.” _

Panic choked at Richie’s throat. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe. He stared at Eddie and couldn’t say a word. “We’ve lost our memory,” he finally muttered, “or at least part of our memory.”

“How?” Eddie asked in a trembling voice. “How could that just randomly happen to both of us?”

Richie drummed his fingers on the table. “At least we still remember some things.” 

“We still remember our first names.” Eddie confirmed. “But not our last. And what else do we remember?”

“We remember our room number; six twenty-six.”

“But the desk clerk said we don’t belong in that room!” 

“And we remember why we came to London… because my Mom and Dad had these important meetings.”

“But there are no meetings at the hotel. Our memories are wrong, Richie. They’re all wrong!”

Richie insisted on figuring out what they  _ did _ both remember. He had the feeling if they could list what they remembered, they wouldn’t feel so upset about what they had forgotten. They knew it was a crazy idea but Richie didn’t know what else to do.

“I remember that we’re dating.” Eddie said, sitting upright. “I came here with you because… because...”

“It was some kind of special occasion...”

“I don’t remember what that was though. I just remember asking my dad if I could come and he said yes - but I don’t remember what he looks like or his name.”

“Neither do I.” Richie confessed. “But I remember the tour that we took today. I remember everywhere we went in London. I remember Mr Starkes and I remember -”

“What about yesterday?” Eddie interrupted, panic laced in his voice. “What did we do yesterday, Richie? I can’t remember.”

Richie’s breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t remember yesterday or the day before or even the day before that. “I don’t - I don’t remember… I can’t remember anything before today.”

Eddie didn’t seem to hear him. His eyes were locked on the front of the restaurant. Richie followed his gaze and saw the slender, blonde haired man step into the room. The taxi driver. He’d forgotten all about him. Richie jumped up and reached down to tug Eddie’s arm. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Eddie gazed up at him and then back at the taxi driver. The taxi driver had stopped just past the entrance and his eyes were searching each and every table. “Hurry.” Richie whispered. “He hasn’t seen us yet.”

“But maybe we should just explain to him -” 

“Explain what, Eds?” Richie shot back. “That we can’t pay him because we lost our memory and don’t know our names? I really don’t think he’ll believe us, do you?”

Eddie twisted his face in a frown. “Oka so… how do we get out of here?” 

The front door was blocked by the taxi driver but Richie spotted a glass door on the back wall near their table. The door had a filmy white curtain over it and a small sign that read: NO EXIT. They had no choice. Richie grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, pushing Eddie through and tugging the door shut behind them

“I don’t think he saw us.” Richie said. “I think we’re okay.”

They turned away from the door and found themselves in a long, dark hallway. It had to be an area used by the hotel workers. The floor had no carpet and the walls were dirty, stained, and unpainted. They turned a corner and Richie held out a hand to stop Eddie, listening hard for footsteps. Deeming it safe, they started to move again, and then Eddie froze, taking a step back into Richie’s chest.

The man in the black cape stepped out from around the corner, watching them. “Did you really think I wouldn’t follow you? Did you really think you could escape from me?” He moved forward quickly, his face hidden in the shadows and they were trapped, their backs pressed against the curtained glass door. As the caped man drew near, his features came into view. His eyes were dark and cold. His mouth was locked in a menacing snarl and he raised his palm to Eddie. “Give them back.” 

“Huh? Give what back?” Eddie asked.

The caped man kept his palm in front of Eddie’s face. “Give them back - now! Do not play games with me.”

Eddie’s expression slowly changed. He glanced at Richie, then turned back to the caped man. “If I give them back, will you let us go?”

The caped man uttered a short, dry laugh which sounded more like a cough. “Do you dare to bargain with me?” 

“Eddie what’s he talking about?” Richie asked.

Eddie didn’t reply. He kept his eyes locked on the shadowy face of the caped man. “If I give them back, will you let us go?”

“Hand them back  _ now _ .” The man replied sharply, leaning menacingly over Eddie.

Eddie sighed and reached into his pocket. And to Richie’s shock, he pulled out the three smooth, white stones. 

“Eddie, when did you take those?” Richie hissed.

Eddie sighed heavily. “In the sewer when he grabbed me.”

“But  _ why _ ?” 

Eddie shrugged. “I… they just… they seemed important to him. So I thought -”

“They are important!” The caped man bellowed, grabbing the stones from Eddie’s hand.

“Now will you let us go?” 

“Yes. We will go now.” The man replied, concentrating on the stones.

“That’s not what I said! Will you let us go?”

The man ignored him. He piled the stones one on top of the other in his palm. Then he chanted some words, words in a foreign language that they didn’t recognize. As soon as he chanted the words, the hallway began to shimmer. The doors began to wiggle and bend, as if made of rubber and the floor buckled and swayed. The caped man began to shimmer and bend, too. The hallway throbbed with a blinding, white light. Richie felt a sharp stab of pain as if I had been hit hard in the stomach. He couldn’t breathe and then everything went black.

A flickering orange light broke the darkness. Richie opened his eyes and blinked several times before taking a deep breath. The caped man was gone. At least for now.

“Eddie are you okay?” Richie asked in a low voice.

“I think so.” Eddie gazed down the long hall, startled to find it lit by flickering candles. Each candle was perched in a holder beside doors that lead off down the hallway. “How did we get in this hallway? Where’s the caped man?”

“I don’t know. I’m just as confused as you are.” Richie stepped into the flickering light. “This has to be the older section of the hotel. They must want it to stay looking old-fashioned.”

They walked past door after door. The long, narrow hallway was silent except for the thud of their shoes on the hardwood floor. The doors were all closed and there were no other people in sight. The flickering candlelight, the dark doorways, and the eerie silence all gave them a cold tingly feeling but they kept walking through the dim orangey light. They entered another silent hallway, glowing eerily in darting, dancing candlelight.

“There’s got to be an elevator down here somewhere.” Richie said, but they passed only dark, closed doors until they turned another corner, nearly bumping into a group of people. 

They stared at the group of people as they passed. They wore long robes, and their faces were hidden under dark hoods. Eddie couldn’t tell if they were men or women. They moved silently, making no sound at all and paying no attention to Richie or Eddie. 

“Sir?” Eddie called, chasing after the group of men. “Can you help us? Have you seen the elevator?”

One of the men turned back toward Eddie but the others continued moving silently down the hallway, their long robes swishing softly. Eddie could see the face under the hood; an old man with bushy white eyebrows. He peered at Eddie, then at Richie, his eyes dark and wet, expression sorrowful. “I smell evil around you. Do not leave the abbey. I smell evil around you. Your time is near. So near. So very, very near…”

“What abbey?” Richie demanded. “Why are you saying that?”

The old man didn’t reply. The candlelight glowed in his watery eyes. He nodded his head solemnly under the heavy hood and then he turned away from them and glided silently after the others, the hem of his robe sweeping along the bare floor.

“What did he mean?” Eddie demanded when the hooded man had vanished around a corner. “Why did he try to frighten us?”

Richie shook his head. “It had to be some kind of a joke. They’re probably on their way to a party or something.”

Eddie frowned thoughtfully. “They were creepy, Rich. They didn’t look like they were in a party mood to me.”

Richie sighed. “Let’s find the elevator and get up to the room. I don’t like this old part of the hotel. It’s just too dark and scary.”

They wandered down one long, candle lit hallway after another, feeling more and more lost. They couldn’t find an elevator or stairs or any kind of exit. 

“Are we going to walk forever?” Eddie asked. “There has to be a way out of here.”

“Let’s go back.” Richie suggested. “The taxi driver is probably gone by now. Let’s go back the way we came, and go out through the restaurant.”

Eddie pushed his hair back from his forehead. “Good idea.” 

They turned and started the long walk back. It was easy to keep in the right direction as they followed the hallways, making left turns instead of rights. They walked quickly without speaking and as they walked, Richie tried to remember his last name. He tried to remember his Mom and Dad. He tried to picture their faces and tried to remember something about them. 

Losing his memory was much more frightening than being chased by someone because the problem was inside him; inside his own mind. He couldn’t just run away from it. He couldn’t hide from it, and he couldn’t solve it. The only thing he was absolutely sure of right now was Eddie. Eddie was the only thing other than their tour that he could actually remember. He reached out in the dimly lit hallway and laced his fingers with Eddie’s. He felt Eddie squeeze his hand, a reassurance that everything would be okay. 

The only hope they had right now was that Richie’s parents would be waiting in their room and that they could explain had happened to their memories - until they reached the end of the final hallway where the hotel restaurant should have been only to find a solid brick wall.

Richie tugged Eddie away. “This must be the wrong hallway. We made a wrong turn.”

“No. It’s the right hallway! I know it is!”

“Then where is the restaurant? They didn’t seal it up while we were walking the halls just now.”

Eddie stared up at him, eyes frightened. “Can’t we go outside and walk around to the front?” 

“We could… if we could find a door that led to the outside. But so far -” Richie stopped when he heard voices. He turned and saw a narrow hallway leading off to their right where the voices seemed to be floating from. Voices and laughter. “That must be the restaurant down there. See? We just had one more turn to make. We’ll be out of here in a few seconds.”

Eddie’s face brightened a little. The voices and laughter grew louder as they made their way down the narrow corridor into a bright yellow light shone out from an open doorway at the end. They stepped into the doorway, surprised to find that it wasn’t the hotel restaurant. Richie grabbed Eddie’s arm as he stared in shock around the enormous room. 

There were two blazing fireplaces that provided the only light. People in strange costumes sat on low benches around long, wooden tables and there was a whole deer or an elk was turning on a spit, roasting over a fire in the center of the floor. The tables were piled high with food - meat, whole cabbages, green vegetables, fruits, whole potatoes, and foods they didn’t recognize. There were no plates or serving platters. The food was just strewn over the long tables. People reached in and pulled out what they wanted, eating noisily, talking loudly, laughing and singing, taking long drinks from metal wine cups and slapping the cups on the tabletop and toasting each other merrily. 

Two chickens, squawking loudly, fluttered across the floor, chased by a large brown dog. A woman had two babies in her lap who she ignored while she chewed on a large hunk of meat. Eddie gazed in amazement at the colorful costumes in the room. Long robes, loose fitting pajama type outfits of blue and green, leather vests worn over black tights. 

A lot of men and women wore animal furs around their shoulders despite the blazing heat from the fireplaces. In one corner, a man appeared to be wearing an entire bearskin, standing beside a giant wooden barrel, working a spigot, filling metal cups with a thick, brown liquid that oozed from the barrel. Two children in rags played tag under one of the long tables. Another child, dressed in green tights, chased after one of the squawking chickens.

“I’ll be bloody glad when that tyrant dies and her son takes the throne.” One of the women said, raising her goblet into the air. “Down with the Queen and up with the future King!”

“Aye!” Another woman cheered, clinking her goblet with the other. “Can’t believe the  _ Prince  _ was on our side with this. Must be all that smothering she’s been doing. I hope your daughter the great red handed Beverly succeeds. Ever since King Richard vanished that wretched woman has become unbearable. It’s time that Prince Edward took the throne and brought in a new era.”

A man rose his goblet high into the air. “To the future King! A person who has always tried to do his best by us.” Around him, others raised their goblets and echoed his words.

“Hey,” Eddie nudged Richie in the side, “Maybe someone here can tell us how to get outside.” He led the way into the room and even though Eddie was walking slowly, he nearly tripped over a sleeping hound dog.

Richie followed him, feeling like he’d been here before. They made their way up to one of the men turning the roasting deer on the spit. He wore only knee breeches of some rough brown cloth, his forehead and the top of his body glistened with sweat. 

“Excuse me, sir.” Eddie started. “Can you tell us how to get out of the hotel?”

The man stared at him without replying, as if he had never seen anyone in jeans and a T-shirt before. Two little girls wearing gray dresses down to the floor walked up to them and stared up at them with the same shocked expression as the man. Their streaky blond hair fell wild and tangled behind their backs. It looked as if it had never been brushed in their lives and they pointed at them and giggled. Richie realised the entire room had grown silent as if someone had clicked a mute button and his heart started to pound. 

A redheaded woman rose from her seat, approaching them, and then she reached out, taking Eddie’s hands. “My liege, how did you get in here? The Queen’s guards are all over the place. If they see you here… and  _ him _ ,” she nodded her head at Richie. “You will be in grave danger.”

_ “The Abbey.” He shoved the man towards the doors, towards the dark skinned guard who was waiting for him. “The monks… they will protect you. Go!” _

_ The man turned quickly, dark curls poking out from under the hood of his cloak. “You will join me there, yes?” _

_ “Yes, just, go already, Richard! You will be safe there, I promise.” _

Eddie rubbed at his temples. “Richie… I don’t know what’s going on anymore. My head hurts and I’m remembering things that I know could have never happened to me or you.”

“My liege I know that you wanted to see him but you must return to the castle. We told you that Prince Richard would be safe here. As long as he is in this Abbey is he under the protection of Sanctuary. My daughter… where is she?”

“She...” Eddie’s mouth suddenly moved on autopilot as though someone had jacked his brain. “She was found out and my mother is still ruling. As soon as I can take what is rightfully mine I can free her from the tower.”

“Of course, yes, but you must return. Send Stanley to us again in two days and we will have a new plan.”

“Wait.” Another woman rose to her feet. “We cannot send the Prince back there at night. There are bandits on the trails. You should rest here. Leave in the morning.”

The room that the Abbey residents gave them was close to the Monks quarters, but that didn’t make the sleeping accommodations any better. The beds were hard and uncomfortable and Eddie had been forced to lie on Richie; deeming him more comfortable. The moment he’d thrown his leg over Richie who stared up at him with an unreadable expression, Eddie felt a jolt in the back of his head and then wave of dizziness washed over him.

_ He spread the salve over his dick carefully, making sure he was completely coated before he leaned back down over Richard, connecting their mouths as he slowly pushed himself into him. Richard’s feet pressed into the bed, curling into the blanket and a quiet moan punched out his chest into the kiss. Edward broke the kiss, lowering his nose to Richard’s neck and peppering kisses there as he pushed in a little further.  _

_ “I love you.” He breathed, pressing kisses slowly up to Richard’s jaw as he slowly pushed completely into him. “I cannot wait for the day that we can be together in front of people. No more sneaking around like this.” _

_ Richard’s fingers pressed into Edward’s shoulders, digging against them so that his fingers nicked at his flesh. “As do I, my love.” _

_ Edward gripped at Richard’s hip. “Soon. I already have a plan.” _

Eddie leaned down, connecting his mouth with Richie’s in a kiss. Since the Terror Tower tour, so much had come flooding back to him. A life he never knew about before now but one he knew definitely belonged to him. Why else would he be remembering it? How else did he knew exactly what to say to the woman back in the hall? 

And that meant…

Eddie pulled back from Richie quickly. “Richie we -”

Something like recognition shone in Richie’s eyes. “Yeah. We were in that tower but I don’t remember why. What did we do that was so bad?”

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t know - I don’t remember. But we were in there. Together.”

“And now we’re back… right?”

“Yeah. Maybe someone here can tell us what happened - what we did.”

The following morning, they found no signs of the people from the night before, only the Monks who didn’t seem too keen on talking to them. They wandered the dark Abbey hallways, trying to find someone they recognized from the feast. Candles flickered on either side of them and the floorboards groaned under their shoes. They turned another corner approached a large door that they hadn’t seen the day before. Richie reached out and pushed it open, the two of them stepping into the bright sunlight. 

It took a few seconds for the harsh white glare to fade from their eyes and Eddie blinked several times, gazing up and down the streets. Everything had changed. He was seeing an entirely different place now. No cars. No buses. The street outside the hotel had vanished, replaced by a lumpy dirt road. 

The tall buildings were gone and the road was dotted with small, white cottages that had flat roofs and low wooden shacks built without doors or windows. A tall mound of straw stood beside the nearest cottage and chickens clucked and strutted across the road or stood in front of cottages pecking at the dirt. 

“What’s going on?” Eddie asked. “Where are we?”

“We were right. We’re back.” Richie said in a hushed voice. 

“But back  _ where _ ?” 

Two men walked by carrying lines of slender, silvery fish. They had thick beards and wild, unbrushed hair, dressed in loose-fitting gray smocks that dragged along the ground. There were women in long, brown dresses on their knees pulling up root-type vegetables with their hands and there was a man leading a scrawny horse, its bones sticking out at its rib cage. He stopped to say something to the two women.

“They look a lot like the people in the hotel.” Eddie said. “See? That looks like the woman who was complaining about the river view.”

Thinking about the hotel made Richie turn to confirm what he already knew. The hotel was gone now, and in its place stood a long, low building that was made from brown stone. “I don’t understand this. We’ve got to get back to the hotel. To where we were before here… we must have been sent away from here for a reason.” 

“The tower.” Eddie breathed. “We know we were locked in there. We don’t know why, but maybe being locked in there is why we were sent away to… Richie where did we live?”

“I don’t remember. I barely remember the tour now.”

Eddie took a few steps along the dirt road. It was soft and muddy like it had rained recently. He could hear cows mooing nearby and the sound of someone whistling; a redheaded boy dressed in an outfit made of black and brown rags. He was carrying a bundle of sticks in his arms and seemed to be about their age. He looked up, blue widening in surprise. His hair was long and unbrushed, fluttering over his shoulders in the breeze. 

He dropped the sticks and knelt instantly, accent heavy as he spoke. “Good day to you, Sire. I did not know you had left the castle and come here.”

“He looks like the waiter from the hotel.” Richie whispered.

“Yeah.” Eddie agreed. “Excuse me, uh -”

“Bill.” The boy replied, not looking up.

“Bill - you can get up.” Bill scrambled to his feet and Eddie continued. “Do you know where the Barclay hotel is?”

Bill stared at them, squinting his eyes and frowning. “I do not know those foreign words.” 

“Hotel.” Eddie repeated impatiently. “You know, a place where travelers stay?”

“Many stay at the abbey.” Bill replied, pointing to building behind them. “I must be getting the wood along home.” He nodded goodbye, gathered up the bundle of sticks and headed down the road.

“Richie that boy doesn’t know what a hotel is. Can you believe that?” When Richie didn’t respond, Eddie turned to find no sign of him. Richie was gone. “Richie? This isn’t funny!  _ Richie _ !” The two women glanced up from their vegetable picking at Eddie’s shout and Eddie jogged over to them. “Did you see where my boyfriend went?” 

They shook their heads and returned to their work. Eddie was forced to suddenly jump out of the road as a cart pulled by a groaning, grunting ox came barreling past. The driver, a fat, bare chested man, his pouchy skin darkened by the sun, slapped the ropes that served as reins. He bellowed at the ox to move faster and as the wagon rolled past, its wooden wheels sank into the mud, leaving deep ridges in the road. Chickens clucked and scurried out of the way. The two women didn’t even glance up at the noise.

Eddie made his way to the entrance of the abbey. “Richie? Are you back here?” Eddie pulled open the door and peered inside. 

The long candlelit hall stretched before him and he could see men in hooded robes gathered at a doorway. They’d just come from there, Eddie reminded himself as he closed the door. Richie wouldn’t have gone back inside, so where was he? He wouldn’t have just run off and left Eddie there. He called his name a few more times until his throat tightened up and his mouth felt dry like cotton. 

His legs began to tremble as he walked to the side of the first cottage. He needed to calm down. He’d find Richie but he needed to keep calm. He peered into the open doorway of the cottage and a sour smell floated out from inside. He could see a crude wooden table and a couple of wooden stools but there was no one in there. He made his way behind the cottage where a grassy pasture stretched up a gently sloping hill. Four or five cows stood along the hill, their heads lowered as they chewed on the grass. 

With a worried sigh, Eddie turned around and made his way back to the road. He’d have to search every cottage. Richie couldn’t have gone very far. He’d only taken a few steps toward the next cottage when a shadow slid over the road. Startled, Eddie raised his eyes and stared at the dark figure blocking his path. His black cape fluttered behind him in the wind and he wore a new black hat, his pale face poking out from its dark brim. Eddie stepped back out of his shadow. 

“I said it was time for us to go.” The man said softly, moving closer.

“Where is Richie?” Eddie demanded. “Did you take him?”

A thin-lipped smile crossed his pale face. “Richie?” He snickered, as though Eddie’s question had amused him. “Do not worry about Richie.” He took another step forward and his shadow fell over Eddie again.

Glancing around, Eddie saw that the two women picking vegetables had disappeared into their cottages. Everyone had disappeared. The road stood empty except for some chickens and a hound dog who was asleep on its side in front of a straw pile.

“I don’t understand.” Eddie said, taking another step back. “Who are you? Why are you chasing us? Where are we?”

The man chuckled. “You know me. It is time to go back to the castle, Edward.” 

“No! I don’t know you! What is happening?” The man didn’t answer. Eddie stared hard at him, trying to study his face, searching for answers, but the man lowered the brim of the black hat, hiding his eyes from view. “You’ve made a mistake. You’ve got the wrong person. I don’t know you.”

The man’s smile faded and he shook his head. “Come with me now.”

“No! Not until you tell me who you are and where Richie is!”

Brushing his heavy cape back, the man took another step towards Eddie. His boots sank heavily into the mud as he strode forward. “It is worse than I thought. He really has changed you. He’s turned you against your own mother.”

“I won’t come with you.” Eddie said. He glanced around, getting ready to run. 

“Do not think of running away.” The man said as if reading his mind. “You will come with me now. It is time.” He strode forward quickly, raised his gloved hands, and grabbed Eddie by both shoulders. 

Eddie had no time to struggle. No time to try to break free. The ground started to rumble. There was a groaning sound and a heavy slapping. Another oxcart bounced around the corner. The driver slapped the ox with a long rope and the cart moved faster; a blur of groaning animal and grinding wheels. The black-caped man released his grasp on Eddie and leaped back as the cart rolled at them. 

Eddie ran. He bent low, hiding beside the grunting, straining ox and then turned sharply and dove between two small cottages. He was panting rapidly and his chest ached, the blood throbbing at his temples. Keeping low, he ran along the backs of the cottages. The green pasture stretched to his left giving him nowhere to hide there.

The cottages grew closer together and Eddie heard crying children. A woman was roasting some kind of blood-red sausage over a fire. She called out to Eddie as he ran past, but he didn’t slow down to reply. Two scrawny black hounds chased after him, yapping and snapping at his legs. “Shoo! Go home!”

Glancing back, he could see the tall, dark figure gliding easily over the grass, his cape sweeping up behind him. He was catching up. He had to find a hiding place. He ducked between two small shacks and nearly ran into a large, red haired woman carrying a baby swaddled in a heavy, gray blanket. Startled, the woman squeezed the baby to her chest.

“You’ve got to hide me!” Eddie said breathlessly.

“Go away from here!” The woman replied, more frightened than unfriendly.

“Please!” Eddie begged. “He’s chasing me!” He pointed through the space between the cottages. “Please! Don’t let him catch me! Hide me!”

The woman had her eyes on the black-caped man. She turned to Eddie and shrugged her broad shoulders. “I cannot.” 

Eddie let out a long sigh of defeat. He knew he couldn’t run any further. The man would capture him easily. The woman pressed the baby against the front of her black dress and turned to watch the man run toward us. “I’ll pay you!” He blurted, digging in his pockets. He found coins that looked similar to the one Richie had tried to give the taxi driver. “Here.” He shook the golden coins at the woman. “Take them! Take them all and just hide me!  _ Please _ !”

He jammed the coins into the woman’s free hand and she raised her hand to examine them, her eyes bulged while her mouth dropped open. “Gold sovereigns!” She exclaimed in a hushed voice. “Gold sovereigns. I saw one once when I was a little lass.”

“Will you take them? Will you hide me?” 

She dropped the coins into her dress and shoved Eddie through the open doorway of her little cottage. It smelled of fish inside and there were three cots on the floor beside a bare hearth. “Quick, into the kindling basket.” The woman instructed. “He won’t find you in there.”

She pushed Eddie again, towards a large straw box with a lid. With his heart pounding, Eddie pushed up the lid and scrambled inside. The lid dropped back down, covering him in darkness. On his hands and knees, he crouched on the rough straw bottom of the box, struggling to stop panting; to stop his heart from thudding in his chest. He could hear voices outside the cottage. The woman’s voice. And then the booming, deep voice of the black-caped man. Eddie held his breath so he could hear their words over the loud beating of his heart.

“He’s is right in here, Sir.” The woman said. The voices became louder; closer, right next to the basket. 

“Where is he?” The caped man demanded.

“I put him in this box for you, Sire. He’s all wrapped up for you, ready to take away.”

Eddie’s heart jumped to his throat. In the blackness of the box, he suddenly saw red. That woman took his money and then she gave away his hiding place. How could she do that to him? He was still crouched on his hands and knees,and he was no longer terrified, just  _ angry _ . Taking a deep breath, Eddie twisted around and tried to push open the straw lid, letting out a disappointed groan when it didn’t budge. The basket suddenly moved, knocking him against its side and Eddie could feel it sliding over the floor of the cottage. The basket bounced and then he felt it slide some more.

“Lad.” The woman’s voice whispered through the basket. “I am so sorry. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me. But I dare not go against the Lord High Executioner.”

The  _ what _ ? 

The basket slid faster and Eddie slid into the side again. It bumped hard on the ground and he did not hear the woman’s voice again. A moment later, he heard the whinny of horses and he was tossed against one side, then the other as the basket was lifted up. Soon after, the basket began to bounce and shake and he heard the steady clip clop of horses’ hooves. He was a helpless prisoner now inside the straw basket. The shadowy man in the black cape and black hat - the woman had called him the Lord High Executioner. 

But what did the Executioner want with  _ him _ ?

The wagon stopped with a jolt and then a minute or so later, started up again. Bouncing around inside the basket, Eddie lost all track of time. Where was the man taking him? What did he plan to do? His head hit the front of the basket as they jolted to another stop. The lid suddenly flew open and the harsh sunlight made him shield his eyes.

“Remove him!” He heard the booming voice of the Executioner which was so forceful that it sent a shiver of fear flooding down his spine.

Strong arms grabbed Eddie roughly and tugged him from the straw box. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Eddie saw he was being lifted by two gray-uniformed soldiers. They set him on his feet but his legs gave way and he crumpled to the dirt.

“Stand him up.” The Executioner ordered. 

Eddie gazed up into the sun at him. His face was hidden once again in the shadow of his dark hat and the soldiers bent to pick him up. Both of Eddie’s legs had fallen asleep and his back ached from being tossed and tumbled in the cramped box. The soldiers held onto him until he could stand on his own. The Executioner gave a signal with one hand, and the guards took Eddie’s arms and turned him around. As he turned away from the Executioner, away from the sun, the dark castle rose in front of him. He saw the wall, the courtyard, the dark, slender towers looming up over the stone castle.

The Terror Tower.

Eddie had been brought to the Terror Tower. The Executioner led the way inside and the soldiers gripped Eddie’s arms, firmly pulling him through the courtyard toward the castle entrance. The courtyard was jammed with silent, grim-looking people dressed in rags and tattered stained gowns, staring at them as they passed. Some of them stood hunched like scarecrows, their eyes vacant, their faces blank, as if their minds were somewhere else. Some sat and wept, or stared at the sky, and a bare-chested old man sat under a tree frantically scratching his greasy tangles of white hair with both hands. A young man pressed a filthy rag against a deep cut in his dirt-caked foot. Babies cried and wailed, and both men and women sat in the dirt, moaning and muttering to themselves. These sad, filthy people were all prisoners, Eddie realised. 

He remembered his tour guide, Mr Starkes, telling them that the castle had first been a fort, then a prison. Eddie shook his head, wishing he was back on the tour in the future, in the time where he belonged. He didn’t have long to think about the prisoners as he was shoved into the darkness of the castle and dragged up the twisting stone steps. The air felt wet and cold as he climbed, a heavy chill rising up the stairs with him.

The stone stairs curved round and around. They passed the cell on the narrow landing and a redheaded woman clambered from the bed and to the bars, gripping at one with a hand, regret on her face. She reached out, an effort to grab his arm, but the soldier slapped her hand away and Eddie was dragged higher up to the dark door at the top of the tower. A guard slid the heavy metal bolt on the door and pulled it open and he was shoved inside, stumbling into the tiny room. He heard the heavy door slam behind him and then the bolt sliding back into place. He was locked in. Locked in the tiny cell at the top of the Terror Tower.

“Nice of ya to join me Eds.”

Eddie turned sharply to see Richie lying on the cot; a long dirt smear on his face and his hair matted wetly against his forehead. “Richie…”

Richie cracked a smile. “Do I say welcome home here or…?”

Eddie let out a shaky breath. “That’s not funny.”

“Who said I’m trying to be funny? Eds… I remember why we were here.” Richie slowly sat up. “We’re here because of this.” He motioned between them lazily with a hand. “Us. Being together. Your mom had me locked up for ‘turning you against her’. You chose to stay here. With me.”

Eddie took a seat next to him on the cot, sliding his hand into Richie’s. “What’s gonna happen now?”

“I don’t know.”

Eddie opened his mouth, head snapping to the door as he heard noises outside the cell. The bolt slid open, and the door started to open. Eddie was sure it would be the executioner, but he found that he was incredibly wrong. It was the bellhop from the hotel who stepped in, Stan, dressed in a purple robe that flowed down to the floor. He squinted at them and he exhaled heavily.

“You were never supposed to come back here. None of us were.” Stan’s long purple robe swept over the floor as he moved towards them. “Do you remember me?”

“You’re the bellhop from the hotel.” Richie said, slowly rising to his feet. “The one who let us into the room.”

“Yes, but that is not all I am.” Stan seemed gentle and kind, not at all like the Executioner, and he looked over his shoulder at the door before looking back to them. “I wish it were in my power to release you again, Edward. As you do not fully remember me, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stanley. I am the King’s sorcerer and the Prince’s advisor. You were both ordered here by Queen Sonia, Edward’s mother. First she had Richard sent here for corruption of the crown, and then she discovered that the assassin on the landing below was hired by her own son. She believes that Richard put you up to this and had you locked in here for three days to learn your lesson. However -”

“I decided to stay here,” Eddie breathed, “with Richie.”

“Indeed. I cast a spell upon you to help you escape. To help all of us escape so we could be free. I tried to help you and anyone who helped you to escape their fate. I erased the memories of everyone but myself. I whisked you away to the safety of the abbey, then I sent you as far into the future as I could. When I sent you far into the future, I gave you new memories with your real families. The Queen has ordered today that both of you and the assassin be executed tonight. Her men will be here soon and there is no way I can stop what will happen.”

“I don’t believe this.” Richie dropped to sit on the cot again. 

The horror of the truth was fully starting to sink in now. They weren’t just Eddie and Richie from the twentieth century. They lived in this dark and dangerous time at one point. They were Edward and Richard.

_ Edward’s hands roamed at Richard’s pale skin, curling around his jaw and settling there, thumbs stroking at the flesh and catching the ends of dark curls. “I was careless. I just wanted one night with you before you were to return home and now you are here. Locked up like some common enemy.” _

_ Richard’s nose bumped at his own, his mouth inches apart from Edward’s. “I would do it again for that one night.” _

_ Lips met, soft and careful. “I will not leave you when she comes for me. I cannot.” _

_ “You have to.” _

_ “I refuse. I would rather spend the rest of my life locked in here with you.” Edward stroked at Richard’s jaw, an attempt to soothe him. “If this thing between us is why you are guilty of a crime - then I am too and I should be here just as much as you.” _

_ “Edward -” _

_ “You will not change my mind about this.” _

_ Richard shook his head, curling a hand around Edward’s wrist. “You know I will be executed for this. That is what this tower is for. I cannot just let you  _ ** _die _ ** _ with me like this, Edward. This Kingdom  _ ** _needs _ ** _ you.” _

_ Edward smiled, brushing some of the dark curls away from Richard’s face. “I am not dying with you just for the sake of it. I am doing this because I love you and that is why I choose to be with you until the second the executioner’s blade touches my neck.” _

“I tried to send you as far from this Tower as possible.” Stan tried to explain again. “I sent you far into the future to start new lives. I wanted you to live there and never return. Never return to face doom in this castle. I was there to make sure nothing like this happened.”

“But what happened?” Eddie asked slowly. “Why are we back here?”

“The Lord High Executioner was spying on me. He must have known that I wanted to help you escape from what Sonia wanted to do to you. When I cast the spell that sent you into the future and gave you new memories, the Executioner must have hidden nearby. I used three special white stones to cast the spell which were left with my apprentice here, Benjamin. He must have stolen the stones from him and performed the spell himself. He sent himself to the future to bring you back, and as you both know, he caught you and dragged you back here.”

Stan took a step forward and raised his hand, placing it on Eddie’s forehead. The hand felt cold at first and then it grew warmer and warmer, until Eddie pulled away from the blazing heat. And now he remembered. He was Prince Edward. His father had vanished and his mother had assumed complete power. He remembered growing up in the royal castle. He remembered meeting Richard, becoming his friend, and how they talked about uniting England with Scotland. He remembered falling for Richard and how someone had seen Richard sneaking from his chamber after their first night together. Stan had warned him his mother knew, and he arranged for Michael to take Richard to the Abbey where it was safe but they had found him and dragged him here to the tower.

“Can you perform the spell once more?” Eddie asked. “Can you send us to the future again like before?”

Stan shook his head sadly. “Alas, I cannot do that. I do not have the stones anymore for the spell. I told you, they were stolen by the Lord High Executioner.”

A smile slowly spread over Richie’s face and he reached into his pocket. “I took a leaf from Eddie’s book and stole them when the Executioner captured me back near the abbey. You were right Eds, they  _ were _ important. Will you do the spell again?”

“Yes - yes of course I will. Anything to help Edward.” Stan took the stones from Richie and piled them on top of each other in the palm of his hand just like they’d seen him do before and they began to glow a bright white colour. “Movarum, Lovaris, Movarus.”

The glowing stones exploded in a flash of blinding white light and Richie snapped his eyes shut as it started to blind him.

He didn’t want to open them when he could no longer see the light trying to burn through his lids, certain that if he did, he would just be back in Terror Tower as a prisoner waiting to be executed just because of who he loved. He could hear footsteps, Eddie and Stan no doubt, and it made him want to keep his eyes closed even longer. 

“They weren’t held in here for very long.” Mr Starkes voice suddenly rang over the room around him. “You see, even though they were both sentenced to death by Queen Sonia, their execution never actually happened.”

Richie slowly opened one eye and then the other. He couldn’t couldn’t believe what he was seeing right now. The spell Stan used had actually worked again and he was back in the twentieth century in the Tower as a tourist and not as a prisoner. It was a lot different this time, too. Their tour group was bigger than he remembered.

“Eds...”

“I know.” Eddie whispered next him. 

Like Richie, he was looking around the chamber, his eyes landing on Beverly, the assassin that he’d once hired to kill his own mother. She looked so different in the off coloured grey denim skirt and blue tank top with a hoodie tied around her waist instead of the dirtied shirt and pants he was used to seeing her in. She was standing near the front of the group, her hand clasped in Bill’s which she was swinging back and forth between them. She looked happy - like she didn’t have a care in the world. It was a nice contrast to the Beverly they’d once known.

“So if those Princes  _ didn’t _ end up dying up here,” an elderly woman spoke up, looking around the room, “then what happened to them?”

“No one knows really knows what happened to them. On the night that they were to be executed the Princes just… vanished. They disappeared into thin air in a locked room that was guarded by two soldiers. It is a mystery that will never be solved even now.” Members of the tour group mumbled to each other, gazing around the small room. “Look at these thick, stone walls and the barred window so high above. How did they escape this place? We will never know.”

Beverly raised her hand high into the air, popping the bubblegum in her mouth. “What were they imprisoned in this place for?”

Mr Starkes smiled sadly, his eyes landing on Beverly as he spoke. “They were imprisoned in here for being in love at the wrong time under the wrong ruling. It was a very religious era and the Queen could never have her son loving another man. It is said, though we don’t know how accurate this was, that those more loyal to Prince Edward helped him to shroud his relationship from the Queen to keep them safe and that suspicious of her son, she had her own men spy on him. They say that one morning, the Prince’s lover was seen sneaking from his chamber after what we can only assume was a very intimate night.”

A woman near the front of the group giggled and Richie could feel his face heat up at that. Eddie laced their fingers together, rubbing the back of Richie’s hand with his thumb as he leaned into him. Just because the assumptions were correct didn’t mean they knew every intimate detail the way the two of them did. They didn’t know about the slow and soft caresses, the deep passionate kisses, or whispered, ‘I love yous’ as Eddie had slowly tipped him into that blissful state, and they definitely didn’t know about the soft moans and quiet whimpers shielded with Eddie’s hand so anyone passing his room at night didn’t hear them.

“The lover, of course, was imprisoned under the act of corruption to the crown and tossed in this tower when Edward had snuck him to the old Abbey. She then had her son locked up to try and get him to bend to her will. She believed that a couple of nights in the tower would do that for her. However, he decided to stay here with the man he loved. One cannot help but wonder how a woman could be so cruel as to imprison her own child just for being in love or how it must have felt for him to be locked here in this tiny cell.”

“If he truly did love this man, which I think he did, then I think that alone made him brave enough to stand here. I don’t think he was scared of being here for even a second. He was with the man he loved and that was enough for him.”

Richie looked back over his shoulder to see Stan at the back of the group, leaning back into Mike who had his arms curled around his waist. They looked as happy as Richie remembered them back in the fifteenth century - back when they’d done everything to keep himself and Eddie a secret from the world around them.

Mr Starkes chuckled. “You may be right about that, but we’ll never know the truth.”

Eddie squeezed at Richie’s hand, keeping his voice low as he spoke. “I wasn’t afraid. I knew what I wanted, who I wanted, and nothing was going to stop me from having it, even if I could only have it for a little while.” 

Richie smiled and slowly raised Eddie’s hand to his mouth to kiss it. He’d never been scared when he was locked in this cell either. How could he be when he had Eddie right there at his side? They’d spent days in this tower, lying on that cot in an uncomfortable sleep. Richie remembered all of it now, including their second and what they had thought at the time could be their last night together. Even on the uncomfortable and lumpy cot Eddie had made it feel just as good as the first time, driving him slowly into pleasure as the moon filtered in through the barred window. 

“Right, this way folks.” Mr Starkes said, starting to lead the group out of the cell and back down the stairway, reminding them to be careful on the worn steps. “Next up is the King’s dungeon.”

Beverly turned to face them with a grin. “Best college history field trip ever am I right boys?”

“Sure thing Bev.” Stan said, nudging her towards the door. “Get moving so we don’t fall behind.”

“Does she not remember anything?” Eddie asked as Stan passed them.

“I figured that it was best that only you two, myself, and Mike remember our past life.” Stan curled his arm around Mike’s as they started to move. “They never had any real ties to anyone back in that time aside from their adoptive parents. They were poor and downtrodden people, forced to steal and kill to survive another day. It’s better that they always think this to be their time period where they are happy, loved intensely by good families, and have four friends who really should be catching up to them.”

“Hey um… what happens now?” Richie asked as they ducked out of the room. “Like, how in depth did you make this whole thing exactly?”

Stan bumped his shoulder into Richie’s, tucking his hands into the pocket of his trench coat. “Well right now we finish this tour and then we go back to the hotel for the rest of the trip and then finally we go home. Trust me, this spell is  _ very  _ in depth. I’m very good at what I do. We have college, parents, and homes in this time. You just need a little time for your new memories to sink in. They’ll be there by the time the tour is over.”

Eddie took one last look at the tiny cell. “It’s really weird knowing that I’m part of a history tour that tons of people come to see. If you hadn’t helped us… if you weren’t  _ you _ , then they’d be telling a very different story to the groups.”

“It would be a story of a tyrant who stood there and watched the beheading of her son just because of who he loved so she could keep the crown. I mean, she was still a tyrant, but one that didn’t get what she wanted.”

“Well,” Eddie started his way down the stone steps behind Richie, using his hands to keep himself steady, “I don’t know about you guys but I never want to see this tower again after this tour.”

“You still want to continue the tour?” Richie asked, glancing back at him over his shoulder. “Knowing the things we know?”

“I’m curious about the rest of the tower. I mean, the only part we  _ really  _ saw was the place we were held… for such a stupid reason too, so I want to know what else they locked people up for and where.”

“You know,” Stan started down the steps behind Eddie, Mike’s hand on his shoulder to keep him balanced, “If there had been a way to keep you safe back then I would have done that over this. You would have been a great ruler. I  _ know  _ you would have gotten rid of this place, or at least used it for actual criminals and not some of the stupider stuff.”

Mike snorted, wrapping an arm around Stan’s waist when his foot met the rounded curve of a step and slid from under him. “A farmer can’t do his job because of a bad winter, he gets locked up in this tower and his farm dies. I was lucky. When that happened to my father we actually had the King we did.”

Eddie frowned, keeping his attention on the steps as they veered off to the left stairway towards the King’s Dungeon. “What happened to him? Sonia always told me he died but...”

“I sent him away to here where it was safer.” Stan tucked his hands into his pockets, ducking his head to step under the archway into the dungeon. “Your memories and new life haven’t adjusted yet but when I sent you two away, I made sure to send you to him and Richie to his own parents. He just… has a new name now. I wasn’t as creative with you two and I think that’s what made it so easy for that man to find you before.”

“What actually happened?”

“Sometime after you were born your dad began to suspect your mother. After a few failed attempts on his life, knew that he had to leave that place. My father took him to the Abbey where he was kept safe and given a new name, Frank. Your mother was only interested in one thing -”

“The Crown.”

“Yes. There were a few times that your mother tried to keep it. You were twelve the first time. Your mother had managed to pass a law that stated though you  _ should  _ have taken the throne then that you couldn’t unless you were either eighteen or married. It allowed her to keep the throne a little longer. When you  _ did  _ reach eighteen she told people you were seventeen.”

“If she was afraid of me taking the throne, then why did she keep pushing me towards that French woman? Why did she want me to marry Myra so badly?”

“Because she and Myra could both control you. Together. She would have the crown in spirit. However, if you had taken the throne at eighteen with no wife -”

“Then I would have married Richie and she would have never been able to control me.”

“Since you wouldn’t bend to marrying Myra, and chose to stay with Richie in that tower you actually made it  _ easier  _ for her to keep hold of the throne. She was able to just deem you unfit to rule the Kingdom and people believed her.”

“Why here?” Richie asked, looking back at them. “Why not Scotland where my parents were?”

“I wanted to - really - but it would have started the most intense war of the century. It was better to send Eddie’s father here, and then send Eddie here. Then, I sent your parents here and sent you to them. The further away you were from people like Queen Sonia, the better. I’d say throwing you into this time period is far enough.”

The King’s Dungeon was exactly how Eddie remembered it; a large room illuminated with the green light, the horrible recording that played on a loop, and finally the dummies that were either in cells or on the floor. The only difference with this was that there was no weird man chasing Richie or himself through it.

Mr Starkes gathered them into the middle of the room before he spoke. “Now  _ this  _ place is where those who offended or displeased royalty ended up being held. Their crimes were usually small and stupid such as not laughing at a joke or failing to make them laugh. They were packed in so tight at one point that executions were brought into place for them when they started to overspill the cells. The greater the stupid crime, the more chance of death. After the rule of Queen Sonia it was changed to imprison those who stole from anyone of a higher status.”

“That’s so fucking grim.” Beverly said, peering into one of the cells where there was a dummy of a jester chained to the wall. “Imprisoned because you don’t find a joke funny? I mean, what if it was just really bad?”

Eddie rolled his eyes, approaching Beverly and looking into the cell. “You perfected fake laughter. Royalty genuinely thought they were funny because everyone always laughed at them.” 

“You hated it.” Richie said, ruffling Eddie’s hair as Beverly walked off to look at another cell. “I remember the first day that I met you and you were telling Mike not to laugh unless what you said was actually funny. Turns out it was. I’d never been compared to an ungraceful newborn elk before.”

“Oh god  _ you heard that _ ?”

“Hey, I was a six year old menace who couldn’t control his limbs no matter how hard he tried. You were right. You just had the balls to actually say what everyone was thinking but refused to say because they were too afraid to in case I had them murdered or something.”

“You hated that. You always wanted to be around honest people.”

“You were honest. Maybe a little too blunt sometimes but hey, it got me in your bed.”

The tour group was moving again, forcing them away from the cells and into another room. It was a door that Eddie hadn’t seen when they’d been trying to escape the executioner. How had he not seen it then? Had that been the executioner’s doing? The new room was a long dark corridor, and instead of barred cells there were thick wooden doors with barred windows.

“ _ This  _ area of the Tower was the holding place of crimes to the crown and at one point, witch holding cells. Most of the people kept here were attempted kidnappers who tried to steal young Princes or Princesses. Some of them even tried to take  _ visiting  _ royalty to try and stop kingdoms from uniting with each other. Others were murderers of royalty. Anyone in these cells was not removed until such time as they died whether naturally or by execution.”

“I feel like if I was locked anywhere, it should have been in here.” Richie said, slinging an arm around Eddie’s shoulders. “Because I absolutely would have kidnapped you if I had to back then.”

“If either one of us was going to do the kidnapping here, then it would have been me and not you. You’re not exactly sneaky with that newborn Elk grace you have going on.”

“Can we go back to when Eddie  _ didn’t  _ remember these things?”

There was a light chuckle from Stan behind them as they followed the tour group through the hallway. “Sorry Richie, no take backs. This is your life now.”

“That’s it, I want a refund.”

Eddie snorted, bumping Richie with his shoulder as they walked. “You love me really. Don’t even deny it.” He leaned up, dropping his voice as moved his mouth to Richie’s ear. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

He felt Richie tense, and then there was a sharp exhale that punched from his chest. “Yeah - okay - I no longer want the refund.”

“That’s what I thought.” Eddie pressed a kiss to his ear and dropped back down to the flats of his feet.

The door that Mr Starkes led them through next took them back outside. Richie blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light. When they’d arrived before, the weather had been dark and almost stormy, but this time the sun was out, a bright orange sphere hanging against the clear blue sky. They followed the group along the gravelly path and back to the bus, Richie glancing back at the tower over his shoulder as they climbed aboard.

“Hey Stan? What happens if that executioner guy comes back for us again?” Richie asked as he took a seat near the back of the bus, propping himself up against the window.

“He’d have a difficult job in doing that.” Stan said, dipping his hand into his jeans and pulling out the familiar white stones, tossing one to Richie and taking a seat in front of him. “He’d need to have these and I have all three with me here. I made sure they came with me this time.”

“Thank fuck for that.” Eddie muttered, dropping into the seat next to Richie and dropping his head onto his boyfriend’s shoulder. “The last thing I need is to be worried that he’s going to come after us again.”

“You don’t have to be worried about that anymore. I have the stones here with me and I plan to destroy them to keep you safe as soon as I can so they can never be used again. I’ll always keep you safe no matter what time period we’re in.”

“ _ We _ will.” Mike corrected. “I wasn’t his personal bodyguard for nothing, Stan.”


End file.
